With the blue-and-white sky seemingly falling down on top of them, a number of bewildered players, still stunned at a two-week collapse that has their playoff hopes precariously on life support, claim it is wrong to plop the majority of the blame for the Great Maple Leafs Meltdown of 2014 on coach Randy Carlyle.

In fact, if the Leafs want to identify the source of their catastrophic eight-game losing skid, veteran forward David Bolland says they only need to look in the mirror to identify the culprits.

In the aftermath of Saturday’s crushing 4-2 defeat to a Detroit Red Wings team whose roster looks more like that of their American Hockey League affiliate in Grand Rapids, we surveyed a number of players, both young and old, to find out if it was fair to put the brunt of the responsibility on Carlyle.

The overwhelming response: No, this is on us.

“Not at all,” Bolland said when asked if the majority of the fault should rest with the Leafs veteran bench boss. “It’s a team effort.

“The only direction any fingers should be pointed at is directly at us.”

There is no reason to doubt Bolland’s comments. The Leafs no-nonsense forward is not in the habit of offering up shallow lip service, as anyone that knows him can attest.

Less than 10 months ago, it was Bolland who scored the Stanley Cup winning goal for the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 6 of the final against the Boston Bruins. As such, he is well aware of how well the Leafs played in coming 15 minutes away from eliminating those same Bruins in the first round last spring.

Nevertheless, words simply will not be enough to save Carlyle’s job should the hierachy at Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment opt to shake things up starting, as often is the case with teams perceived to have underperformed, with the man behind the bench.

But that hasn’t stopped some Leafs from sticking up for their embattled coach.

“No, this shouldn’t be (on Carlyle),” said defenceman Jake Gardiner. “It’s on the players. It’s on everybody.

“We’re the ones on the ice, not him.”

If that’s the case, why do many of these players not practice what Carlyle has been preaching?

True, there are legitimate questions revolving around Carlyle’s tactics at times. But as TSN analyst Aaron Ward pointed out last week, the suggestions making the rounds that the coach has no definitive system in place is hollow.

Having played 17 games under Carlyle with the Anaheim Ducks during the 2010-11 season, Ward knows of what he speaks.

If that, then, is the case, why aren’t these Leafs following Carlyle’s blueprint, one that Gardiner agrees proved to be successful for 6 and 2/3 games against the Bruins in the 2013 post-season?

“We’ve been playing great at times,” Gardiner said. “We know what we can do when things are going well. It’s just a question of putting it all together.”

Gardiner’s performance Saturday night was a prime example of the loosey-goosey style that has bitten the Leafs in their collective rumps all season.

There was Jake the Good, using his top-end natural skills to collect a pair of assists.

And there was Jake the Bad, coughing up the puck two different times on the play that led to Darren Helm’s shorthanded marker early in the second period, one that sparked a three-goal Detroit explosion in less than a five-minute span that left the Leafs trailing for the rest of the evening.

Whether you agree with the analytics fraternity or not, the new-wave number crunchers are correct when they point out that a team that so often comes out second best in terms of puck possession can not be successful. Of course, playing keepaway with the puck is a recipe that Kenny Holland’s Red Wings have been subscribing to for almost two decades, a philosophy that is hammered into their prospects from the moment they first put on a Grand Rapids uniform.

That’s a big reason why many of these kids — names the casual fan might not be familiar with — have put the Wings in position to reach the post-season for a 23rd consecutive time despite the fact that stars Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk are still on the shelf nursing injuries.

In terms of tactics, Bolland echoes Carlyle’s mantra that “we have to play our game and get pucks in deep.” Except the players rarely follow that game plan.

If the plug indeed is pulled on Carlyle, it would mean his replacement, whomever he might be, would be the fifth Leafs coach in eight years. Over that span, Pat Quinn, Paul Maurice, Ron Wilson and Carlyle have managed to get Toronto into the playoffs just once — that being Carlyle a year ago — entering the final two weeks of the 2013-14 regular season.

That speaks to an organization that, in the past, has been unable to find stability and continuity.

If not Carlyle, then who? Kevin Dineen? Peter Laviolette? Steve Spott, after just one season coaching the Marlies? Do you wait to see if someone like Dan Bylsma becomes available should the Penguins get eliminated early from the playoffs?

To be fair, putting together such a list is jumping the gun. The Leafs have not yet been officially eliminated, and Carlyle still is the coach.

For Joffrey Lupul, a guy who had his ups-and-downs with Carlyle when both were in Anaheim, there should not be a target on Carlyle’s back right now.

“It’s not just the coach,” Lupul said. “It’s all of us.

“He can’t play for us. He’s not out there.”

Maybe not. But coming to Carlyle’s defence isn’t worth much if his players don’t play better defence.

Maple Leafs players say coach not to blame for losing skid

With the blue-and-white sky seemingly falling down on top of them, a number of bewildered players, still stunned at a two-week collapse that has their playoff hopes precariously on life support, claim it is wrong to plop the majority of the blame for the Great Maple Leafs Meltdown of 2014 on coach Randy Carlyle.

In fact, if the Leafs want to identify the source of their catastrophic eight-game losing skid, veteran forward David Bolland says they only need to look in the mirror to identify the culprits.

In the aftermath of Saturday’s crushing 4-2 defeat to a Detroit Red Wings team whose roster looks more like that of their American Hockey League affiliate in Grand Rapids, we surveyed a number of players, both young and old, to find out if it was fair to put the brunt of the responsibility on Carlyle.

The overwhelming response: No, this is on us.

“Not at all,” Bolland said when asked if the majority of the fault should rest with the Leafs veteran bench boss.